This year, don’t let anyone stop you from blogging in 2022. People once again have the question: is blogging dead? If you’re wise, you’d ask those same people: is Google dead? Online articles literally fuel many of Google’s search results. Search engines are able to feed you relevant results because of online writing like blogs.
Here at Tortuga Marketing, we want to shut down any myths around online content, because the industry is alive (and thriving)! There are so many reasons to get started, but we’ll focus on basic tips for actually structuring that first article. Let’s jump in.
Getting started on blogging in 2022
It’s easy to write a blog, but you want to write one that will actually get read. Before we begin, you really need to determine if your blog is viable enough to be worth the effort. Done? Great!
There are 2 major factors that really drive viewership. First, you must focus on writing for human readers. The reason this actually isn’t a no-brainer is because of factor #2: SEO, aka search engine optimization.
Search engines are such critical pieces of your audience that people forget to craft compelling content for their human audience. Google, Bing, and Yahoo certainly make your content discoverable, but don’t guarantee readers if your articles suck.
What’s the right way to make a post for blogging in 2022? Write for humans in simple, natural language, and be aware of what search engines currently want. We’ll dive into the latter in just a few.
Focus your content towards humans
Pick a brand-relevant topic. Whether you’re making a personal blog or a company one, you’re a brand. You’ve got relative expertise in specific areas, and it’s in your best interest to write on those areas. Pick something you’re particularly knowledgeable on. It’ll be way easier to write a great post about it. Oh, and please only focus on one topic per post.
Do a bit of research. You probably know a lot about your industry, but research gives you facts about what your readers actually engage with. You want shares, likes, comments… in other words, you want buzz. Using tools like Alltop and BuzzSumo can really help you see what your audience enjoys from leading blogs in your niche/industry. The trends in general topics may even give you ideas for your own topics.
Write for your readers, not yourself. You might love your article, but it’s not about you. Your readers care about how your articles benefit them. Create an imaginary descriptive identity of your target reader. You’ll want to focus on their dreams and aspirations, as well as their biggest challenges preventing their goals.
When you write, you want to reveal how your post gets them closer to their desires. The clearer you are on who you’re writing for, the better your audience will feel understood and connected with your writing.
SEO, aka “How to structure your content for the machines”
Choose your target keyword. Time to think like a search engine. Potential readers are feeding phrases into searches to find relevant content. Your article needs to contain the highly-searched phrases to connect the dots of relevance. There are many time-consuming high ROI methods to choosing a keyword.
To get you moving, a quick start way is to choose a potential search phrase, then find relevant phrases and include each once throughout the article’s body content.
Remember to format your content. With your keyword in mind, include it once in the following areas: 1) your H1 title, 2) one of your H2 subheadings, 3) your body content, 4) your meta description, and 5) your URL. Before you get up in arms, yes, SEO does run deeper than this. These areas are commonly agreed to be worth optimizing. And for your first article, we want to get you finished, not stagnant and overthinking.
Finally, just get down to writing!
You don’t need an extensive vocabulary and amazing writing skills to write a blog. Blogs are meant to be a fun, conversational, and relatively quick read. It’s a great idea to say what you write out loud, and hear how it flows. Rereading also helps you check for mistakes and possibly confusing sentences.
At the end of the day, the key to writing a great blog post is practice. Taking the time to outline your writing and proofread for grammar, you’ll be off the a great start. You’re going to make a few wrong turns, and that’s okay! If you’re seeking to stay on the right track and you’re unsure of where you are on your journey, you might want to consult with a team that loves this type of work.
Here at Tortuga Marketing, we craft content and promote it every day to get your brand heard. Set up a chat today and we’ll get you moving closer to a truly engaging brand blog.
